Copiapo Mining Disaster – Los Treinta Y Tres. We are staying in Copiapo which is the nearest town to the Chilean mining accident and the rescue of 33 miners; known locally as simple Los Treinta y Tres. So a quick look at Wikipedia produced the Lat/Long coordinates of the site and the GPS then took …
Author Archives: colindotpdx
How to cross the Andes in style. Or at least in a cloud. Meet Nacho and Dario our two Argentinian fixers. They are driving a support truck for our little group and have made all sorts of problems disappear. Nacho talked the Dakar authorities in Argentina to pre-clearing us through Argentina and Chile immigration, convinced …
Jan 6th – Over the Andes by road. From Fiambala in Argentina to Copiapo in Chile should have been a 500km ride with about half on unmade roads. But the day before we left there had been a huge storm; Fiambala normally gets 10cm of rain a year and this time it got 10cm in …
Couple of other photos from Chilecito to Fiambala Cheering folk, fuel stop for riders, and a look at one of the Dakar bikes with their communication and navigation gear.
Jan 5th – If you dress the part, you get the part. Today was our first real day following the Dakar caravan as they moved from the overnight camp (they call it the “Bivouac” in Dakar-speak) to the next stop and the actual timed race for the day (the “Stage”). They call this part on …
Bailing Wire and Garden Hose Today was not meant to be a tough day; just a blast across the desert to intercept the Dakar competitors. But it did not turn out that way. First, my bike ran out of gas within about two hours of leaving in the Argentine back country. The gauge said full …
This is the last day we will be rested and clean for a while. Our bikes arrived and, after a little bit of messing around to install personal paraphernalia like GPS and bags and cameras, we are ready for the off tomorrow. We have been based at El Estancia del Pilar that is mainly used …
On the way to Cordoba, Argentina to meet my Dakar Rally gang, I had the chance for a quick tour of Buenos Aires. No sleep on the ten hour flight from Houston but who cares. With my arranged guide, Agustina, we managed to see La Boca an old barrio that is now touristified and serves …
I just finished reading Jupiter’s Travels by Ted Simon. This is the story of his 1970s four year trip around the world on a Triumph Tiger; one of the first times anyone had done this and his trip was certainly the catalyst for many others including Long Way Round. No, I am not contemplating doing …
We were wondering why the cat food was disappearing so quickly, Well we seem to be getting one more cat at the trough. Next door neighbour called their cat “a bit sneaky” which is an understatement. These photos were taken by a Brinno time-lapse camera which is a lot of fun by the way.(www.brinno.com/html/product02-tlc100.html)
Colin's Travel Journal 